Newsletter

Savannah area development opportunities for nonprofits

This week I attended the Georgia Center for Nonprofits Summit. It did not disappoint — each workshop I attended provided tools and information I’ll be able to immediately apply in my work.

I found the conference highlight to be a keynote address by Claire Diaz Ortiz, director of corporate social innovation and philanthropy for Twitter. Diaz-Ortiz provided a five-step plan nonprofits can use to most effectively engage the power of the Twitter platform.

Clear and non-technical, the plan cuts through the confusion about how to best use Twitter. A more detailed look at the plan and some fascinating stories of how Twitter has been used in social movements and natural disasters are provided in her book, Twitter for Good.

Pick up the book or download it to your e-reader for immediate access to this excellent information. Diaz-Ortiz herself is a fascinating person whose commitment to the global nonprofit community and to social change was a key motivation for her activities with Twitter.

Frank Dickerson analyzed how over 800 small to major nonprofits across the country approached their fundraising letters. He found that virtually all made the mistake of using an academic sounding approach that doesn’t effectively tell the stories of change the nonprofit makes in clients’ lives.

To learn more about how to create more powerful and compelling fund appeals, visit Dickerson’s website, narrativefundraising.org.

If you didn’t make it to the summit, you can download its program at the Georgia Center for Nonprofits’ website, gcn.org, at no cost. Doing so will gain you access to the excellent resources presented there, since most speakers and presenters highlight their special knowledge on their websites. Some resource access is free, some not.

The Georgia Center for Nonprofits will bring other learning and development opportunities to the coast this summer and fall.

Momentum, an initiative designed to build the capacity and philanthropic resources of south coastal Georgia nonprofits, has been providing training to over 80 nonprofits in that region for several months.

Here in Savannah, on May 30 Cindy Murphy Kelley, head of Savannah State University’s MBA program and a seasoned leader of mid-sized and large nonprofits, will speak at the Doubletree Hilton on finding the right leadership fit for your nonprofit. The event is free.

A June 22 day-long conference by GCN, Focus on Fundraising, promises detailed information and tools on fundraising from developing donors and creating business partnerships to designing special events with “triple impact.” Information on these opportunities can be found on the GCN website.

Another resource you’ll want to be aware of is Georgia Gives Day, a statewide initiative that focuses the attention of the public on the work and worth of nonprofits. Georgia Gives Day intends to inspire individuals to donate to participating nonprofits through a website and its goal is to raise as much money as possible in a 24-hour period.

Georgia Gives is a collaboration of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits with participating nonprofits, corporations, associations, foundations and public relations and advertising firms. Participation for nonprofits is free of charge. To sign up go to gcn.org/Join/GeorgiaGivesDay.aspx. The event is Dec. 6.

Sarah Todd is executive director of Girls on the Run of Coastal Georgia and the founder of Change Pioneers, an information resource for nonprofits. She can be reached at 912-224-2120 or toddsar@gmail.com.